Under the trio's combined assault, Phantylia didn't even get the chance to speak again before the "black hole" swallowed her.
That massive body vanished without a trace. Only debris remained—flakes, dust, and powder ground down by crushing gravity.
"Did we… succeed?" Welt landed and pushed up his glasses, breathing a little hard.
The answer revealed itself immediately—
Those remnants hadn't "died." Under the radiant glow of the Ambrosial Arbor, they sprouted again—branches and leaves bursting forth. The power of Abundance surged anew. Limbs re-formed, growing at a visible speed—larger than before, more grotesque, more twisted.
"Heh… hahahaha!" Phantylia rose again, her new body wrapped in burning golden light. "It's useless! Do you feel it? This is the undying blessing granted by Shuhu! As long as this power remains… I am eternal!"
She spread her arms wide as the Arbor's roots reconnected to her. A torrential force erupted, becoming literal flame-like radiance.
"Your struggle is nothing but pitiful entertainment—an extra bit of flavor for this tragic little play of destruction!"
Deep within the Ambrosial Arbor, that silent golden awareness—drowned in self-doubt—was quietly stirred by the violent fluctuations outside and Phantylia's arrogant proclamation.
…Huh?
The insects out there… are still making noise?
Could it be… I haven't been completely denied?
A faint, instinctive pride—an ember of presence—rose from the ashes of self-negation, as if dead coals were trying to burn again.
Perhaps… I should remind these insects once more…
What it means to be… an Emanator of Abundance—
Its consciousness had only just begun to reach outward, preparing to re-cohere—already rehearsing its first impeccably "grand" line for its return—
Then, in that very instant—
A presence, terrifyingly familiar—carved into the deepest layer of its soul—poured down like a bucket of ice water.
It would never forget that power: the energy of the one who brought forth that black sun, who laughed as he spoke the sentence that shattered its pride into dust.
And this time…
That power was wilder. More violent. More—
Sleep! I didn't hear anything! I didn't feel anything! I'm dead! I'm already dead!!
Shuhu "closed its eyes" and stopped thinking.
Outside, Phantylia—newly regenerated and even more overbearing—was about to savor the despair on her opponents' faces—
When she suddenly felt the power blooming inside her stall for a fraction of a moment.
"Hm?" She flinched.
That one-thousandth of a second of hesitation—
A red-and-blue flash streaked through.
A human-shaped hole opened clean through her gigantic body.
Behind her stood a colossal mechanized god—crimson and silver-blue interwoven—like it had passed straight through that hole, the match in size and shape almost too perfect.
"Where'd it go? That's not right…" A puzzled voice rumbled from within the massive machine as it rummaged through the Arbor roots behind Phantylia, searching for something.
What… is that? Phantylia didn't even have time to process the shock—
She only caught a glimpse of a black sphere in the machine's hand.
"Run…"
That thought ignited a buried terror—something instinctive and sleeping inside this body—triggered the instant she saw the sphere.
Her incomplete body toppled. Her true heliobus core fled the battlefield like it had gone mad.
She didn't even have time to think where that fear came from—her body was already moving.
Runrunrunrunrunrun—!!!
She didn't dare look back.
She didn't dare witness the moment the Ambrosial Arbor withered the instant it touched that black sphere.
She feared that the slightest glance would expose an opening—and she'd be caught.
The Arbor shriveled. And across the Luofu, the roots that had been born from Abundance power began to dehydrate, crumble, and drift away into ash.
The four fighters stood frozen on the battlefield, speechless.
New product from the Artisanship Commission? Never heard of it…
That mech is insanely cool. Is this a "combination" design…?
…That guy really does love being dramatic.
"Huo Linfei! You're not dead?!" someone shouted.
Hearing it, the red-and-blue mech turned toward the group in the distance—its gaze locking instantly onto Stelle, whose eyes were shining.
"Hey, hey, hey—who are you cursing to die?" Huo Linfei snapped back.
"That voice… he's back." Jing Yuan let out a long breath. "Never thought he still had a method like this."
The two-in-one Super Beast God form gradually dissipated, but Huo Linfei remained beneath the Arbor roots, still searching for something.
"If you're looking for Baiheng, stop." Jing Yuan approached calmly—he already knew what Huo Linfei was after. "She's gone."
"Gone?!" Huo Linfei whipped around. "How—gone?! Old age? Illness? Or—"
Jing Yuan covered his face. "Not that kind of 'gone'…"
Alchemy Commission — Dispensary
Inside the pharmacy, Bailu had already woken up in March 7th's arms, still eating candied hawthorn she'd "borrowed" from Changletian.
Soft bell chimes rang occasionally in the room.
At the window-side tea table sat two women: a foxian who looked strikingly similar to Bailu, and a white-haired woman wearing an eyepatch. They sipped freshly brewed tea.
"Barring surprises, it should be resolved by now." Jingliu swallowed a mouthful of hot tea, irritation lacing her tone. "If he hadn't miscalculated the timing himself, he'd probably still be keeping it from us."
"I was furious when I first woke up too." The foxian woman's ears twitched. She looked out the window, her gaze holding a hint of reproach. "I didn't expect him to be so willful. What a chain of coincidences—forming this detestable reality. I can understand why Yingxing would end up joining the side of the End."
"An outcome that can't be avoided. Your 'death'—that illusion—only sped up Dan Feng's descent into obsession." Jingliu, unusually, tried to soothe her. "But we both know… in the end, he would still attempt the draconic transmutation for the sake of the dead."
"Bailu wouldn't be born. Huo Linfei wouldn't return to the past to save you…"
The foxian woman—Baiheng, who should have died—looked at Bailu eating her candied hawthorn.
"But that would be far too cruel… for little Bailu…"
Her voice faded until even Jingliu couldn't hear the last words.
"Ha…"
"Ah…"
They sighed at the same time.
March 7th stared at the two of them with a full-on deadpan expression, tightening her hold on Bailu.
"Bailu, do you understand what they're talking about?"
"Don't understand…" Bailu kept licking her candied hawthorn. "But every few years they sit here and ramble like this—I'm used to it. If you can't understand, just pretend you didn't hear. Let them entertain themselves…"
"…Fair point." March nodded.
BANG!
The dispensary door was slammed open.
"Big sis Baiheng, I missed you SO much!" Huo Linfei roared.
"Little—Huo—!" Baiheng's eyes went wide, ears shooting straight up. "You've got some nerve coming back to see me!"
She kicked off the floor and drove a fist the size of a sandbag straight down onto Huo Linfei's skull.
He didn't dodge.
A lump instantly rose on his head.
"My bad, sis." Huo Linfei ignored the pain and patted his chest, visibly relieved. "But seeing you still so full of energy—I can relax. Good thing I was only off by a few decades. If it'd been any earlier, your little brother wouldn't have been able to see you alive…"
"You got yourself frozen like 'chilled meat,' and now you treat your sister like chilled meat too?!" Baiheng fumed, fist clenched on top of his head (though she wasn't actually using much strength).
And Huo Linfei—somehow—looked proud.
"Don't worry about the 'chilled meat' business. Whatever you look like when you go in… you come out the same—"
"Ahem." Jingliu cut him off. "Foxians don't have the concept of aging. That has nothing to do with your 'chilled meat' technique."
"Oh, Jingliu!" Baiheng snapped, hands on hips. "You too?! You're making fun of me!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 85)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter85)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter81)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter60)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter66)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 40
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 50
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